361 Golden Retrievers flood the Scottish manor where the first puppies were bred 150 years ago

[Elderberry]

Daily Mail By Alex Green

    Golden Retriever Club of Scotland organised the event at Guisachan House in Tomich, Inverness-shire
    The group curated the large gathering to celebrate 150 years since the well-loved canine was first bred
    The faithful dog was the creation of  Lord Tweedmouth, who owned the estate in the 19th century

Forget 101 dalmatians. For a gathering of adorable dogs, nothing quite beats 361 golden retrievers. 

Yesterday the much-loved breed was celebrated at Guisachan House in Tomich, Inverness-shire. The golden retriever was first bred on the estate in the 19th century by estate owner Lord Tweedmouth.

Members of the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland (GRCS) staged the club's Highland gathering at Guisachan to mark the breed's 150th anniversary.

The task of bringing together so many dogs – and ensuring they all went home with the right owner – fell to chairman Doreen McGugan.

She said: 'The 150th has been a roaring success. We've gone from 188 golden retrievers at the 2006 gathering, 222 in 2016, to 361 today. We've beaten our record on the big anniversary.'

The breed was developed to retrieve downed game from both water and land. Modern-day famous fans include Oprah Winfrey and actor Andrew Garfield.

More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5974133/Forget-101-Dalmations-Sea-361-Golden-Retrievers-floods-Scottish-manor.html

[dfwgator]

I miss my Golden.   

[XenaLee]

Daily Mail By Alex Green

    Golden Retriever Club of Scotland organised the event at Guisachan House in Tomich, Inverness-shire
    The group curated the large gathering to celebrate 150 years since the well-loved canine was first bred
    The faithful dog was the creation of  Lord Tweedmouth, who owned the estate in the 19th century

Forget 101 dalmatians. For a gathering of adorable dogs, nothing quite beats 361 golden retrievers. 

Yesterday the much-loved breed was celebrated at Guisachan House in Tomich, Inverness-shire. The golden retriever was first bred on the estate in the 19th century by estate owner Lord Tweedmouth.

Members of the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland (GRCS) staged the club's Highland gathering at Guisachan to mark the breed's 150th anniversary.

The task of bringing together so many dogs – and ensuring they all went home with the right owner – fell to chairman Doreen McGugan.

She said: 'The 150th has been a roaring success. We've gone from 188 golden retrievers at the 2006 gathering, 222 in 2016, to 361 today. We've beaten our record on the big anniversary.'

The breed was developed to retrieve downed game from both water and land. Modern-day famous fans include Oprah Winfrey and actor Andrew Garfield.

More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5974133/Forget-101-Dalmations-Sea-361-Golden-Retrievers-floods-Scottish-manor.html

Wow!!!!  Somebody's gonna have job security cleaning up after that.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

I miss my Golden.   

Knowing what unreservedly wonderful souls they are it's got to be hard being separated (temporarily) from your's.

I'm sorry.

I'd love to walk into the middle of that crowd and just sit down to be mobbed by them.

[the_doc]

I miss my Golden.   

I  miss my Irish Setter.  If you like pix of lots of puppies, try this link: https://www.boredpanda.com/irish-setter-gives-birth-15-puppies-mother-day-poppy/

[dfwgator]

I  miss my Irish Setter.  If you like pix of lots of puppies, try this link: https://www.boredpanda.com/irish-setter-gives-birth-15-puppies-mother-day-poppy/

I remember the day we picked up our Golden from the farm and she was their with all her siblings,  my son laid down and they all converged on him playing with him,  if I could I would have brought them all with me.

[XenaLee]

I remember the day we picked up our Golden from the farm and she was their with all her siblings,  my son laid down and they all converged on him playing with him,  if I could I would have brought them all with me.

You haven't been converged on.... until you've been converged on by three adult boxers.

[RoosGirl]

I thought they were an older breed than that.

[the_doc]

I thought they were an older breed than that.

I was similarly surprised. 

[berdie]

Wow!!!!  Somebody's gonna have job security cleaning up after that.

Nah...Goldens clean up after themselves. 

[berdie]

I  miss my Irish Setter.  If you like pix of lots of puppies, try this link: https://www.boredpanda.com/irish-setter-gives-birth-15-puppies-mother-day-poppy/

I love the look of an Irish setter. I had one that I raised from a pup. Bless her...she was dumb as dirt. May have been specific to her and not a breed issue.

[RoosGirl]

I love the look of an Irish setter. I had one that I raised from a pup. Bless her...she was dumb as dirt. May have been specific to her and not a breed issue.

I have heard that across the breed they are not very smart.  My thought is that at some point they had to have some smarts to use them for hunting dogs, but as they got bred less and less for hunting and more and more for conformation they also got rid of their intelligence.

[the_doc]

@RoosGirl
@berdie

I love the look of an Irish setter. I had one that I raised from a pup. Bless her...she was dumb as dirt. May have been specific to her and not a breed issue.

Irish Setters rank among the most beautiful dogs on the planet, in my opinion.  (That's why I posted the link, which also has great photographic technique.)  And Irish Setters are generally very friendly, very lovable, very kind, and very loyal.  Unfortunately, they have not ranked high in the recent surveys of doggy intelligence (unlike Labs and Golden Retrievers, both of which breeds are usually ranked in the top 5 or 10 for smarts).   

Still, there are some startling exceptions within the one breed:  I had an Irish Setter that was VERY smart compared to an Irish Setter that a former roommate of mine had.  It took me only ten minutes to teach him to heel.  He executed the command perfectly ever after.  (My dog, that is, not my roommate).  My dog paid close attention to EVERYTHING I said to him.  (It was one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced with an animal.  [My roommate, on the other hand, didn't pay very good attention.]) 

[berdie]

I have heard that across the breed they are not very smart.  My thought is that at some point they had to have some smarts to use them for hunting dogs, but as they got bred less and less for hunting and more and more for conformation they also got rid of their intelligence.

You are probably correct. I don't see them used much for hunting anymore. But they do "show" well. So they must ma a few smarts left.

[berdie]

@RoosGirl
@berdie
Irish Setters rank among the most beautiful dogs on the planet, in my opinion.  (That's why I posted the link, which also has great photographic technique.)  And Irish Setters are generally very friendly, very lovable, very kind, and very loyal.  Unfortunately, they have not ranked high in the recent surveys of doggy intelligence (unlike Labs and Golden Retrievers, both of which breeds are usually ranked in the top 5 or 10 for smarts).   

Still, there are some startling exceptions within the one breed:  I had an Irish Setter that was VERY smart compared to an Irish Setter that a former roommate of mine had.  It took me only ten minutes to teach him to heel.  He executed the command perfectly ever after.  (My dog, that is, not my roommate).  My dog paid close attention to EVERYTHING I said to him.  (It was one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced with an animal.  [My roommate, on the other hand, didn't pay very good attention.])

I can't argue about their beauty or temperament. But my poor setter could never coordinate her huge paws to climb the stairs. It was both sad and funny...all at the same time.